just to be with you
by princessalithelioness
Summary: Simba confesses his love to Nala together they learn lessons of friendship, responsibility and love, lessons that will guide them trough teenage life in to adulthood.


**A/N **

_**hey just a little something for you guys! this is kind of an experimentation, different from "the prince and the huntress" should I continue it or just leave it as a one shot?**_

_**hope you like it and please leave me a review telling me what you think**_

**_love_**

**_-az_**

**Just to be with you**

Simba ran to the back to pride rock where he knew he would find Nala, his lessons today ended early because his father had to tend to a neighboring kingdom emergency, the teenage prince walked inside the den looking for the cream-colored lioness but he only found their mothers resting after their morning hunt

"Hey mom" he walked smiling towards them "good morning miss Sarafina"

"Good morning little prince" they said at the same time, then looked at each other and laughed

"Mom I-" Simba rolled his eyes

"I know, I know, you are not little anymore" the queen said mocking the young lion

"True, see the growing mane? I'm not a cub anymore" Simba said pointing at his head "anyways, Have you seen Nala?" he asked looking at the two lionesses

"She's by the acacia trees" answered Sarafina with a smile

"Thank you!" Simba said before running out of the den. The two mothers shook their heads at the cub-like energy of the teen.

When he saw Nala in the distance he decided to sneak up on her from behind, he approached her silently

"I can hear you breathing, you big dummy" she said without facing him when he was about to pounce on her "you really suck at this Simba" she laughed walking away from him he pulled her hind leg with his paw

"Hey!" she protested when she fell in to the ground and burst out laughing when Simba started tickling her "stop it!" she said shifting so she was in her back, Simba held her in the ground continued tickling her the difference in size between male was now starting to show in the two, Simba was now bigger and heavier than her so she couldn't push him of her

"Say: Simba is the smartest the bravest and strongest and… handsomest lion in the pride" he said not letting her up

"As if!" she said scoffed

"Just say it Nala" he demanded

"Just get off!" she grunted

"Say it!" he said tickling her again

"Okay, okay! Simba is the smartest the bravest and strongest and handsomest lion in the pride!" she yelled

"And the best fighter" he added

"You're the best everything. Now get off!" she said

"It's true" he said letting her up turning his back on her

"True that you are as heavy as a hippo" she said before she pounced on him when he the two tumbled around laughing until she flipped him in the air pinning him down

"Why are we always fighting so much?" the golden lion asked looking up at her

"Because it's fun" Nala shrugged still pinning him down

"Yeah…" Simba answered, the light shone behind her, her eyes sparkled, and his smile made his heart flutter_, wow she look like an angel _he thought and couldn't help to stare dreamily at the young lioness

"What?" Nala noticed his eyes set on her

"Your face…" the prince said

"What about it?" she asked

"It's just…pretty" Simba said with a grin

"Oh" Nala blushed and got off him quickly "thanks…"

"Was that weird?" the young lion asked, lately him and Nala had had a lot more of these ``weird awkward moments``

"I don't know… a little maybe" she shrugged "but I didn't mind" she smiled shyly

"I don't know what's wrong with me…" Simba said looking away from teenage lioness "I just keep on having all these strange thoughts"

"What kind of thoughts?" Nala asked curios

"Just thoughts, thoughts about you and me…" he the golden prince said facing her, Simba was confused, they've been friends ever since he could remember, they spent all their time together, and they were very close they were always hugging and cuddling, it was normal to them until one day it wasn't to the young lion he started seeing his best friend in a different way, he liked this new feelings and thoughts but he didn't understand it and for that they scared him.

"Tell me" Nala insisted on him sharing his thoughts with her

"They're just thoughts, they don't mean anything" he shrugged

"Oh" the cream lioness said a little disappointed, Simba noticed he wanted to share them with her but he didn't want to scare her, or her to think that they were totally weird and out-of-place, silence_ just talk to her Simba! Maybe that will stop having this awkward moments _the prince told himself

His heart beating fast as Nala's eyes were intently looking at his "Look, it's just that lately I-" he started after a few seconds of silence

"Hey there Simba!" Nala rolled her eyes when she heard the annoying voices female of Shanti and Yara, Shanti, the two were the mean girls of the pride. They not only were in love with Simba, but they also happened to hate Nala to death. Simba in a way was thankful for the interruption for some reason talking to Nala about this was nerve-racking.

"Hey Shanti, hey Yara" Simba greeted

"How's the future king?" Yara asked giggling

"I'm good, how are you two?" he asked politely

"Oh were fine, but we´ll be even better if you go with us to the water hole" Shanti answered batting her eyelashes

"Why not?" the golden lion shrugged, maybe latter would be easier to talk to Nala

"Great!" Yara and Shanti beamed

"We could go for a little while. Right Nala?" Simba said looking at Nala for her approval

"Really Simba? It's the water hole" Nala asked, they`ve always found that place to be dull

"You don't HAVE to come if you don't want to Nala, we were only asking Simba" Yara snapped

"Fine with me, I wouldn't want to spend another second around you two" Nala rolled her eyes and began to walk away

"Nala wait!" Simba tried following her to convince her to come along but she kept walking further away from him

"Simba, she`s just being selfish. As the future king need to know all the members of the pride, not just one" Yara said blocking the prince's path, he sighed and decided to go with them at least for a while and when he came back he would talk to his best friend.

Nala silently walked from the other young lions after hearing what Yara said, _maybe she's right Simba is the future king and he does needs to know the rest of the pride_, _maybe I'm holding him back, maybe I'm selfish to want Simba all to herself_, but she couldn't help to feel that way, specially lately she wanted him close at all times.

The young lioness walked in the grassland she wasn't looking when she stumbled into something, or more precisely in to someone, she was nose to nose with a lion that she haven't seen before

"Hey" he said smiling inches away from her he had aqua eyes like her, sand colored fur with a brown growing mane

Nala's eyes widen with shock and quickly backed away from the strange lion "MOM!" she yelled running away from there towards the den, strange rogue males were not welcome in the pride lands and the only thing Nala could think of doing was warning the adult lionesses.

"wait!" he said trying to catch up her until they got to pride rock, the young male stood outside dumb folded at the majesty of the enormous rock, while Nala went inside and came back out with Sarabi and Sarafina

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" asked the queen

"My name is Tojo and I'm Kiapo's son, we were attacked by hyenas and before he died my father told me to come here and look for the king and queen, he said they would help me, please there's no one left you have to help me" Tojo pleaded

"Well Tojo, I'm queen Sarabi, king Mufasa is not here right now, but I would be glad to help you" she smiled at Tojo

"Thank you" he returned the smile

"Come inside, we'll get you something g to eat while we wait for my husband" she said walking back to the den, the young lion followed her "by the way, this is Sarafina, and this is Nala" she said introducing the three

"Nice to meet you" he said politely

the lionesses brought some meat for the young lion, he ate it without hesitating, Tojo had been traveling for more than two days, after his pride was attacked by hyenas, kiapo wanted to make sure his son would be safe so he sent him to the pride lands, he was an old friend of Mufasa and he knew, Tojo would be received with open arms

"Poor dear" said Sarafina feeling bad for Tojo after hearing what he went trough

"You don't have to worry anymore, I'm sure my husband will be glad to help you" the queen said with a warm smile

Tojo smiled feeling welcomed and thanked them for their hospitality

"Well Mufasa isn't going to be back for a couple of hours Tojo, I'm sure Nala would love to show you around, you know to pass the time" Sarafina said "right Nala?" she asked her daughter who was staring away in trance thinking about what happened earlier with Simba

"Uh? Oh yeah, yeah" she said turning to look at her mom pretending to be paying attention

"Great! Now run along you two" Sarafina said gently pushing Nala

"What? Where?" the female teen said confused

"Always with your head in the clouds" her mother answered "You are going to show Tojo around"

"But mom-" the daughter argued

"Go. Now" Sarafina said raising an eyebrow

Nala sighed and got up "fine" she said leaving with Tojo following behind her

"I'll call you when the king is back" Sarabi said and then she turned to her friend "since when is Nala the official tour guide of the pride?" she laughed

"She needs to make more friends, she only hangs out with Simba and she does not get along with those girls" Sarafina shrugged

"I suppose, Mufasa wants to start giving Simba daily lessons" the queen mused

"See? We don't want Nala to be alone" the mother said happy with her decision

"Of course not, but Simba is going to like this one bit" Sarabi said knowing how protective her son was with Sarafina's daughter

"You have very pretty eyes" Tojo complimented as him and Nala walked around pride rock

"Thanks…They're the same color as yours" the lioness said not paying much attention to him

"Yeah but they look better on your beautiful face" he said grinning

She gave him a polite smile not minding Tojo's compliment much, Tojo was nice but she was tired so she walked towards some trees

"Is this part of the tour?" Tojo asked with a smirk as Nala lay down

"Nope, I'm just tired and I like the shadow" she said with a yawn

Tojo was standing there not knowing what to do when Nala's eyes closed, he found it odd how little attention she paid to him normally girls would go crazy over him.

Simba grew tired of the Yara and Shanti so he decided to go look for Nala, he walked around and saw her in the distance sleeping under a tree and suddenly out of nowhere he saw a strange male around his age near her, a low growl escaped Simba's throat as he charged in the stranger's direction, he did not want any rogues around Nala, he jumped protectively in front of Nala snarling and growling causing Tojo to step back surprised

"_Simba_!" Nala yelled from behind surprised at his ferocity his teeth and claws bared, ready to strike "Simba what are you doing?!"

"He's a rogue, he's not welcome here" Simba said keeping his glare on the other male

"He's not a rogue, he just joined the pride" she said stepping between the two

"What?" he asked looking down at Nala

"Your parents allowed him to stay" she explained while Simba's eyebrows furrowed

"What are you doing with her?" he asked Tojo_ oh so that's why she kept her distance, she has a boyfriend _he thought to himself

"She was just showing me around dude, I didn't know she had a boyfriend I swear!" the sand colored lion defended himself

"He's not my boyfriend!" "I'm not her boyfriend!" Nala and Simba said at the same time

"Oh. I thought you two- um" Tojo said confused

"Simba, this is Tojo, Tojo this is Simba he's-" Nala introduced before being interrupted by the prince

"The future king and her best friend" Simba finished

"Well… nice to meet you" Tojo said extending his paw for Simba to shake

The golden lion looked down at the new comer's paw and "uh huh, whatever" he said getting up "let's go Nala" Simba said signaling for her to follow him

"I'm not going with you" she said

"What?" he asked in disbelief

"You heard me" Nala stated "I'm hanging out with Tojo"

Simba sighed "La if it's because I left with Yara and Shanti I'm sorry"

"It has nothing to do with that, Tojo is very nice, I think we all could be friends-" she said

"No, thank you" the prince said turning his head away

"Fine then leave" Nala said shrugging

"You want me to leave so you can be with him?!" Simba asked offended

"You are welcome to stay, as long as you stop being so rude!" Nala said

The prince grunted rolling his eyes "fine!"

"Great!" Nala smiled at him, he returned it with a small one, and meanwhile Tojo watched the whole exchange in confusion

The three stayed and talked getting to know each other, Tojo noticed the way Simba and Nala would steal glances of each other, and the way they loving looked at their _best friend _let Tojo know that there was something more there, he did had an eye on Nala when he first met her but it was obvious who owned her heart, being the nice guy he was and also the ultimate meddler he decided to help them move forward from this _just friends_ status.

Sarabi and Sarafina walked towards the three teens "I see you've met Tojo" the queen said to her son "your father and his were good friends growing up, maybe you two can follow their paw prints"

"Yeah mom maybe…" the prince smiled at her mother

"Well we have to go on our afternoon hunt" Sarabi said

"Time for your hunting lessons Nala" Sarafina said to her daughter

"Okay mom. I'll be right back, try not to kill each other while I'm gone!" she joked before following the older lionesses

Simba and Tojo were left in an awkward silence before Simba sighed "hey um sorry about earlier I just- I don't know what happened to me" he apologized

"We're cool Simba, I completely understand" Tojo smiled

"Really?" Simba smiled _wow Nala was right he is very nice_ he thought

"Yeah, I would be pissed too if I saw my gorgeous girlfriend alone with some stranger" the brown manned teen smirked

"What? No!" Simba laughed nervously "She's not my girlfriend"

"But you wish she was…" Tojo lifted an eyebrow at him

"yes- I mean no!" the prince countered himself

The other teen snorted "I've seen the way you look at her Simba, you like her if not even love her!"

"Love. That's what it is" he sighed "Is it that obvious?" the golden prince asked

"To everyone but her apparently" the aqua eyed lion said "you should tell her"

"What? No way!" Simba said looking at Tojo as if he was crazy

"Think about it dude- um can I dude you?" Tojo asked he had never met a prince before, Simba seemed like a _cool dude _to him, but he didn't want to disrespect the king's son

"Sure" Simba chuckled

"Cool" Tojo laughed

"You were saying?" the prince wanting to get back to the topic of Nala

"Oh yeah… you should tell her how you feel I'm sure she feels the same way about you" the young lion continued

"I don't know…" Simba sighed

"Nala is beautiful! Sooner or later another lion will be interested in her and you can't get jealous or mad there is nothing you can do about it, because you are only friends you will have to sit back and watch how any random guy takes her away from you because you didn't have the courage to tell her?!" Tojo said dramatically

"Is that random lion guy you?" the prince asked with an eyebrow raised

"No!" Tojo said

"We're dudes and all, but Nala's still off-limits for you" Simba said with a serious face

Tojo gasped "I swear I won't go near her, I don't want any trouble I was just-"

"I'm just messing with you Tojo!" Simba burst into laugh "You were right though I have to tell her, I'll tell her tonight!" the golden teen said

"That's what I'm talking about!" Tojo encouraged

"Thanks for the talk dude" Simba smile

"Not a problem dude" the sand colored lion answered.

After fixing his wrongs and gaining a new _dude_ there was one more thing Simba needed to do before the day ended, and that was to tell Nala how he felt.

Simba and Nala went up to the very top of pride rock where they would sometimes star-gaze, this time however the prince was more focused on her, he couldn't help but to stare captivated by her beauty, Nala was not only beautiful but also funny, caring, sweet yet spunky, loyal, centered, in other words perfect for him, he had to tell her otherwise he would regret it

"The stars are up there you know" Nala said in a sweet voice noticing Simba's gaze

Simba softly chuckled and put his arm around Nala, she rested her head on his shoulder and smiled while looking in to his eyes "your eyes shine even brighter than them" he said making her heart skip a beat, she was beyond happy at this point, so what happened after sent her to the moon and back, Simba gently grabbed her face and caressed it he got closer so that his nose was touching hers and stayed there for a second before the two slowly joined in a kiss, this wasn't the first time they kissed they tried it once before as cubs just to see what the big deal was, but it was nowhere as loving and sweet as this one, Nala smiled resting her forehead on his, Simba leaned closer whispered in her ear "I love you Nala" she gasped before looking at him with a sly smile

"I love you too Simba" she said before pinning his back to the ground "very, very much" she said kissing him again. The two stayed up there for as long as they could, enjoying their first moments as an official couple a couple whose love was infinite as the stars in the sky.


End file.
